The Returned Father of My Child (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
The day Bo Mi was so embarrassed she wished she could dig through the Earth all the way to its inner core was, for Jae Kyung, an utterly irksome day from morning till night.
After returning from an afternoon meeting, Jae Kyung spotted Han Bo Mi with Ha Su Young near the entrance of the break room in the hallway.
It wasn’t that he was bothered by the fact that the two CEOs of Narae Creative—one of Dowon Group’s collaborative partners—got along well.
“I missed you.”
“I love you.”
And even that corny act of kissing the mouthpiece of the phone.
It wasn’t as if Jae Kyung particularly minded that CEO Han Bo Mi had a boyfriend…
Yet who was the person on the other end of the line, the one making her expression endlessly tender?
It should have been something completely unrelated to him, yet no matter how much he pondered it, he couldn’t reach any conclusion as to why it kept bothering him so much.
“Team Leader Yeon Ga Young contacted us about having dinner together tonight—what should we do?”
“Secretary Kim. Have you forgotten the meeting scheduled for tonight?”
“Well… uh…”
Secretary Kim wore an awkward expression.
“Acting Chairperson Lee Hae Young said to prioritize the appointment with Ms. Yeon Ga Young.”
“Secretary Kim. Whose side are you on?”
“I’m sorry.”
Suggesting he prioritize dinner with his fiancée over work made him question whether his grandmother was in her right mind.
It felt like pressure for him to settle down peacefully through marriage instead of consolidating his own power—to step into Hwang Min Jun’s future position. Placing Yeon Ga Young on the Paradisus project team had also been partly intended to increase points of contact between them.
Even though she knew Jae Kyung was swamped trying to manage the recent recall issue at Dowon Motors, she was casually pushing for dinner.
He understood that allying with Hwang Min Jun’s faction through a strategic marriage was the best way to end the draining internal conflicts within Dowon Group.
It wasn’t that Jae Kyung resented being pushed into a loveless marriage now, after having been groomed since childhood to fulfill his father’s unachieved dream of becoming head of Dowon Group.
He simply disliked the discomfort of being forced to build personal rapport within a purely business arrangement.
Was it really necessary to go on dates and have meals together? After all, merely showing up at the altar would be performance enough.
“As long as you stay alive, that’s all I need.”
If it hadn’t been for Yeon Hee’s desperate wish, he never would have agreed to this marriage.
Ever since his father’s death, Yeon Hee had raised him coldly and emotionlessly, determined to mold him into the perfect son in the Chairperson’s eyes.
For Jae Kyung to fulfill his father’s unrealized dream, he had to be the best at everything—and on days he made even the slightest mistake, he endured severe punishment. Because of her teachings, Jae Kyung had always believed he must be perfect.
Yet when he opened his eyes in the hospital room five years ago, his mother had broken down sobbing. He still couldn’t forget those hot tears falling onto his hand. To his mother, Jae Kyung was now her most precious person.
Jae Kyung had supposedly lain unconscious for a full year after the accident. He couldn’t recall anything from that time at all. He’d been heading to his father’s villa searching for clues about his death.
What had happened there?
The doctor said it was short-term amnesia—his memories might return, or they might never come back.
“If remembering is dangerous, let’s just leave it buried.”
Yeon Hee, too, didn’t want Jae Kyung to face any further danger. Whenever he tried to recall the past, he was struck by splitting headaches. Both Jae Kyung and Yeon Hee chose to focus on living in the present rather than chasing lost memories.
After declining Ga Young’s dinner invitation, Jae Kyung attended an evening meal that doubled as a meeting with an outside vendor.
Satisfied with the smooth terms of the deal, Jae Kyung sighed in relief as he got into the car. Exhausted from days of nonstop work, he closed his eyes briefly on the ride back to the office.
He was walking beneath dazzlingly bright sunlight through a dense coniferous forest. The delicate hand tightly holding his still had no discernible face.
Yet he didn’t want to let go of it. On her left ring finger, a crude ring glinted. Jae Kyung opened his eyes with a pained expression and instinctively reached into his chest pocket.
The slender ring tucked inside his jacket matched the one from his dream. It was the ring he’d had on him when he’d been brought to the hospital after the accident. Why had he kept such a rough, amateurishly crafted ring so carefully all this time?
Thinking it might hold a clue to the accident, Jae Kyung always carried it with him.
“Department Head, we’ve arrived.”
“Good work.”
He looked up at the office building, most floors darkened. Telling his guards to wait in the parking lot, he took the elevator alone. Bringing those bulky men along just to handle a few tasks would be inefficient.
*Ding.* Floor 48. Doors opening.
At the elevator’s emotionless mechanical voice, Jae Kyung stepped into the darkness.
His gaze paused at the break room ahead in the hallway, and he recalled Han Bo Mi’s phone call that afternoon.
“Won… I.”
The first time they’d met, she’d called him “Won.” That yearning, aching way she’d said the name—
Who could it be? Not Ha Su Young, not Hwang Min Jun… another man, then.
Most likely her lover. If that man looked enough like him to cause confusion…
He was thinking about Han Bo Mi again.
Jae Kyung walked down the dim hallway. It was past the time for the security patrol.
Turning left led to the Paradisus project Augmented Reality team’s office. Amid the eerily dark corridor, light spilled from just one room.
She’d seemed to be working late yesterday too—again tonight? Was she overloaded with work, or just inefficient?
Jae Kyung intended to ignore it and pass by, but an odd sound caught his attention.
At first, he thought it was a paper shredder, but he soon heard a faint humming accompanied by fluttering sounds like a bird flapping its wings.
Don’t pay attention. Whoever it was had nothing to do with him.
“I won’t lose my courage!”
When Bo Mi’s voice rose clearly, Jae Kyung stopped and opened the door to the Augmented Reality team’s office.
Bo Mi, oblivious to his presence, was enthusiastically waving her arms and legs while singing.
What on earth was that? Setting aside whether she was even hitting the right notes, her utterly absorbed expression was surprisingly cheerful.
Jae Kyung burst out laughing.
It had been years since he’d laughed like this.
What even was that dancing, and why was she singing so badly?
She was silly… Hmm… and kind of cute.
Actually, quite a lot.
“If I’m with good friends who care about me, I’m not afraid!”
The melody flowing from her lips tickled Jae Kyung’s heart.
Trying to stifle his laughter, he quietly approached Bo Mi, who was dancing and singing with abandon.
“…Won I.”
The name Bo Mi sang belonged to another man. Her rabbit-like, gentle eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
That guy again. Jae Kyung’s lips tightened.
“Ms. Han Bo Mi. Who do you think I am?”
“Department Head… If you’d arrived, you could’ve said something.”
Bo Mi took off her headphones and recognized Jae Kyung. Her cheeks flushed pink like ripe peaches as she realized the situation.
“I just got here. It seemed like you were having quite an enjoyable time.”
“Well…”
Bo Mi pressed her knuckles firmly against both cheeks, squishing her soft skin. Watching her cheeks bounce back into place, Jae Kyung’s fingertips twitched involuntarily.
“At night… the office feels so quiet. When I’m alone, it’s just a little…”
She avoided his gaze, brushing her neck nervously.
“Scary?”
“A bit… just a tiny bit.”
Bo Mi pinched her thumb and index finger together then pulled them apart—just enough space for Jae Kyung’s dimple to slip through, appearing and vanishing. Maybe the Department Head wasn’t in a bad mood today?
“CEO Han Bo Mi. Do you have more work left?”
“Oh… almost done.”
Bo Mi turned to switch off her monitor and busily scanned her messy desk, looking like a squirrel gathering acorns. She seemed unusually cute today.
“If you’re scared…”
Perhaps that was why—words he’d never normally say slipped out.
“Shall I stay with you?”
“What?”
She must have heard wrong? As Bo Mi turned, her hand knocked against the pen holder. *Clatter, clunk.*
Pens clattered to the floor, shattering the office’s silence.
She hastily bent down to pick them up and glanced up at Jae Kyung, who stood firmly before her.
If it had been Nak Won, he’d have picked them up before she even bent over…
Though he knew they were different people, a pang of disappointment crept in.
Just as she reached for a rolling pen, Jae Kyung’s hand overlapped hers—so unexpectedly it seemed unreal. Startled by the warmth of his hand, which contrasted his cool demeanor, she looked up.
“Department Head.”
He bent down and raised a finger to his lips.
“Shh.”
Jae Kyung’s scent grew stronger. Though she knew it wasn’t him, the same fragrance quickened Bo Mi’s heartbeat. Jae Kyung reached out and wrapped his arm around her rounded shoulder.
“Depar—”
His palm covered her mouth, pulling her into an embrace and sliding them both under the desk.
They were too close—so close Bo Mi couldn’t even breathe properly. Sensing her trembling as she held her breath, Jae Kyung withdrew his hand.
Just as she was about to cry out, his lips clearly moved: [Sorry.]
Bo Mi stiffened, trapped in his arms. The calming forest scent she always felt when walking beside him stirred longing in her heart.
Same face as her lover. Same voice. Same fragrance. She didn’t even want to resist. It felt like being held again in Nak Won’s arms, now that he’d returned alive.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway, sending a wave of anxiety through her.
Who would come to the Strategy Planning Headquarters at this hour?
A chill ran down Jae Kyung’s spine—could someone be after his life again?
Security patrols had ended, yet these heavy, decisive footsteps shook the corridor without hesitation.
His instincts screamed: it’s dangerous to meet them face-to-face. Without thinking, Jae Kyung pulled Bo Mi further under the desk. It had been a hasty decision to find cover in the dark, and he immediately regretted it.
Each time she breathed, a sweet peach scent spread, stirring him.
Every rustle from Bo Mi sent waves of heat through him.
Ah… seriously.
Do Jae Kyung. Get a grip. He’d dragged her in himself—he couldn’t blame her.
*Thud. Thud.* The footsteps grew louder.
The door to the Augmented Reality team’s pitch-black office—its monitor lights now off—opened slowly.
The sound of a man stepping inside echoed unnaturally loud.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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Ga Jin is such an interesting character. If FL had been friends with him, she might have had an even more terrible childhood because of Mrs. Hwang. But he’s exactly the type of person who could be a friend or family member.